Building A Dream

Mary Bethune’s School

de Richard Kelso, Alex Haley, Debbe Heller

Building A Dream describes Mary Bethune’s struggle to establish a school for African American children in Daytona Beach, Florida. On October 3, 1904, Mary McLeod Bethune opened the doors to her Daytona Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro girls. She had six students—five girls along with her son, aged 8 to 12. There was no equipment; crates were used for desks and charcoal took the place of pencils; and ink came from crushed elderberries. Bethune taught her students reading, writing, and mathematics, along with religious, vocational, and home economics training. The Daytona Institute struggled in the beginning, with Bethune selling baked goods and ice cream to raise funds. The school grew quickly, however, and within two years it had more than two hundred students and a faculty staff of five. By 1922, Bethune’s school had an enrollment of more than 300 girls and a faculty of 22. In 1923, The Daytona Institute became coeducational when it merged with the Cookman Institute in nearby Jacksonville. By 1929, it became known as Bethune-Cookman College, where Bethune herself served as president until 1942. Today her legacy lives on. In 1985, Mary Bethune was recognized as one of the most influential African American women in the country. A postage stamp was issued in her honor, and a larger-than-life-size statue of her was erected in Lincoln Park, Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC. Richard Kelso is a published author and an editor of several children’s books. Some of his published credits include: Building A Dream: Mary Bethune’s School (Stories of America), Days of Courage: The Little Rock Story (Stories of America) and Walking for Freedom: The Montgomery Bus Boycott (Stories of America). Debbe Heller is a published author and an illustrator of several children’s books. Some of her published credits include: Building A Dream: Mary Bethune’s School (Stories of America), To Fly With The Swallows: A Story of Old California (Stories of America), Tales From The Underground Railroad (Stories of America) and How To Think Like A Great Graphic Designer. Alex Haley, as General Editor, wrote the introduction.